Thursday, March 19, 2009

Garden Site Selection Dilemma & A Taste of Spring

Well, me and my perfectionist personality ... I have been in a dilemma.

It has to do with where to place my veggie garden. Now I originally planted my veggie garden here on the east side of the patio because it gets the best light. But as you can see in that picture below, the weeds have literally taken it over, and before we plant our raised beds, we have to remove all grass and weeds. Then oddly, here in this picture taken at noon today, the garden is very shaded! What? Did my oak tree grow a lot more?? Oh, no! Now what??!! But then, I think I recalled this last year too and that it might have something to do with the positioning of the sun this early in the year, because I know this area had full sun in the summer most all day the past couple of years! Ah, yet another thing to consider for site selection!!

But then I think... since we no longer have the gazebo over the patio (thanks to dry rot which we discovered during hurricane prep last year when we tried to take it down), I thought that we might be able to relocate the two smaller 4 x 4 beds I'm doing this year, to the other side of the patio because it appears to get some pretty good sunlight. And since this was a spot the dogs igloos were in for awhile, as you see, it's mostly dirt there - no grass and no weeds - which would certainly save me some work! This picture was also taken at noon, the same time as the one above. As you see, except for shade from a patio umbrella, it is getting full sun. But then the sun seems to fade behind trees on that side about 3:00 p.m.

But then, I thought ... well, I could do the two smaller 4 x 4 beds on the west side of the patio, and then do a long 4 x 8 bed in the original spot!

And then, of course, I thought... there actually enough room there that I could actually do TWO of the longer 4 x 8 beds in the original garden spot! But then, there's all those weeds...

Now you see why it takes me forever to do anything??? I over-think things. I over analyze things. Then I often just say ... oh forget it! But, I made up my mind. I'll do the two 4 x 4 beds on the west side and ONE 4 x 8 on the original east side, so I sent Hubs to Lowe's to pick up some more wood on his way home.

This afternoon we are going to see the grandbaby. Maybe I'll actually get my boards done before that, maybe tomorrow... in the meantime I thought I'd leave y'all with a little taste of spring.

That first picture up there are the unfolding of the leaves on the fig tree. Isn't that so pretty with the light behind it? And it's actually got some fruit forming on it already.

The lantana is coming back.

So are the bugs. If this is a ladybug, this is a good bug. If it's just a beetle posing as a ladybug, not so good. I'm not really sure what it is!

The lilies are beginning to peek out.

The hydrangeas are budding.

And the hibiscus.

And the baby azaleas.

The ferns on the east side of the house not only survived the winter freezes, but have substantially multiplied! This is an area that I can't seem to get anything to grow - not shade, not sun, so I'm happy to see that the few ferns I transplanted over here seem to like it here.

9 comments:

Everything looks so good. I've got flowers bloomin' everywhere, well, early flowers that is. And my fruit trees are all bloomed out. I would love to have a fig tree.You're gonna enjoy your vegetable garden when you get it planted. Had you thought of puttin' down heavy black plastic inside your frames instead of diggin' up the grass and weeds? It would be a lot easier and quicker. You could just put it down and pour in the dirt and plant your seeds. Also I've seen gardens in this area where they put heavy black plastic on top of the ground that has been tilled and then make a hole just big enough to put in a plant. This does away with most of the weedin' that has to be done all garden season. I've never done the plastic thing but a good friend does and she likes it. Well, have fun with your grandbaby.

Hey Rebel! Thanks for the suggestion. I am gonna put some landscaping fabric down first but I thought it would be better to get as many of the weeds out of the way as I can first too. It's actually not as bad as it looks LOL.

I don't have many early bloomers - I keep forgettin' to put stuff down in the fall!! Most of mine come along (well if they made it thru last summer that is)in late spring and early summer. I just started my gardens when I lost my job, so I've only been at it a few years really, a little bit each year. And of course, I've lost a lot too.

Put some pictures of your flowers up pleeeeeeezzzz!!!! I would love to see them.

That is a great post! I love seeing your garden in progress and all the critters. Spring has a funny way of renewing hope doesnt it? I love seeing all the new sprouts on all the plants. Any good recipes for those figs?

Thanks Joan! You're so right - and our nice spring weather is very short before the heat heats so I really love early spring.

On the figs - this is I think going into my 4th full season with the fig tree so it's gotten more and more productive the last couple of years. I have honestly only done a refrigerator jam, or eaten them plain (I love them) but I'd like to try to find some good recipes. I really had to fight the birds for them last year though! Especially the bluejays and they can sure be aggressive about getting those figs!!

You are so lucky - I have very little area that receives full sun for long periods of time because my yard is full of oak trees. I'm not complaining - I love having the shade especially once summertime hits. Not too crazy about the leaves that fall in the spring. One good spot for veggies is right in the middle of my backyard but I put a flower bed there with a birdbath so I could watch the birds. Didn't want veggies in the first shot view out of the back door! It's still kind of cool here at nights for planting things like tomatoes, but of course the stores are sellin' 'em!

Michele, do you have a patio, porch or balcony? If so, you can do a pot or two and do a tomato plant in one, a bell pepper plant in another and then a companion planting of some fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, basil or something like that? You'd probably have much better luck with the bugs than me with the ones in the ground! Oh and they have those upside down tomato planters now that can hang off of an overhang. Check 'em out!

Hi PP! I can't believe those ferns multiplied the way they did and they didn't die back at all over the 3 or 4 freezes that we had. It's a pretty protected area though between the house and the privacy fence. Far as I'm concerned they can just take over that bed!! There really are some other plants in there ... a few hostas, a small azalea, several African lilies (though they don't want to bloom there) and a couple of gaura plants that won't bloom for awhile, but the ferns fill in nicely. Can you believe those started with just a couple fronds I pulled out of another garden??

I planted the bridal wreath last year so it's still kinda small. I've always loved them, but this one was really scawny last year so I wasn't sure that it would make it, but it is full of blooms this spring!

Welcome & thanks for taking the time to comment! From time to time, comment moderation may be activated due to comment spam. I also reserve the right to edit, delete or otherwise exercise total editorial discretion over any comments left on this blog.